# Humidor Won't Hold Humidity (Tried everything)



## smokersandjamokers (Jan 15, 2019)

I am having issues with my humidor that I can't seem to solve. My humidor won't hold its humidity no matter what I've tried. I'm new to this, and it's my first humidor so I wanted to try the wipe down method before I went for the boveda packs (just to try it the old ways first for the experience) and it never held its humidity. I would wipe down with distilled water, charge the humidifier, and put a shot glass with distilled water with a damp sponge resting on it (not touching anything but the shot glass) for 2 days each time. I did this multiple times over a couple weeks trying to get it to stabilize and it never did. I came on the blogs and saw the silicone aquarium sealant might be a solution for a glass top humidor, so I purchased some and sealed the seam between the glass and the lid, did the wipe down method again with shot glass of distilled water, and the humidor still lost humidity and went down to 48%RH. I took out the water and purchased a 74% boveda pack and placed that in the humidor but it only raised the humidity to 51% over 2 days. I did the whoosh test and the dollar bill test and the seal on the lid seems to be fine. I'm running out of ideas. Any hail mary suggestions before I just decide to say screw it and get a new humidor? 

Much appreciated.


----------



## Peapaw (Oct 12, 2018)

smokersandjamokers said:


> I am having issues with my humidor that I can't seem to solve. My humidor won't hold its humidity no matter what I've tried. I'm new to this, and it's my first humidor so I wanted to try the wipe down method before I went for the boveda packs (just to try it the old ways first for the experience) and it never held its humidity. I would wipe down with distilled water, charge the humidifier, and put a shot glass with distilled water with a damp sponge resting on it (not touching anything but the shot glass) for 2 days each time. I did this multiple times over a couple weeks trying to get it to stabilize and it never did. I came on the blogs and saw the silicone aquarium sealant might be a solution for a glass top humidor, so I purchased some and sealed the seam between the glass and the lid, did the wipe down method again with shot glass of distilled water, and the humidor still lost humidity and went down to 48%RH. I took out the water and purchased a 74% boveda pack and placed that in the humidor but it only raised the humidity to 51% over 2 days. I did the whoosh test and the dollar bill test and the seal on the lid seems to be fine. I'm running out of ideas. Any hail mary suggestions before I just decide to say screw it and get a new humidor?
> 
> Much appreciated.


My guess would be, you need to give the boveda pack more time, 2 weeks at least.

Sent from somewhere on the road.


----------



## JtAv8tor (Apr 12, 2017)

Place a flashlight turned on inside the humidor, and turn off the lights, see if there are any obvious leaks (understanding the glass)

Then suggest more time if it checks out.

"I'm an agent of chaos... ." ~ Joker


----------



## Dran (Jun 15, 2018)

My suggestion would be to invest in 65% boveda packs, and 9.6 cup Rubbermaid Brilliance. As attractive as they are, wood humidors are old technology and a huge PITA. In order to ensure you get a good quality humi, you'll be looking at a several hundred dollar investment. Get either some cedar sheets, or cedar spills from your local B&M, toss em in there with the cigars, and you'll even get that amazing cedar aroma when you open it up!

Sent from my LGL83BL using Tapatalk


----------



## ForMud (Jun 28, 2018)

What are you using for a hygrometer? 
Has it been calibrated?
What kind of humidor is it?


----------



## Sine_Qua_Non (Oct 20, 2018)

smokersandjamokers said:


> I am having issues with my humidor that I can't seem to solve. My humidor won't hold its humidity no matter what I've tried. I'm new to this, and it's my first humidor so I wanted to try the wipe down method before I went for the boveda packs (just to try it the old ways first for the experience) and it never held its humidity. I would wipe down with distilled water, charge the humidifier, and put a shot glass with distilled water with a damp sponge resting on it (not touching anything but the shot glass) for 2 days each time. I did this multiple times over a couple weeks trying to get it to stabilize and it never did. I came on the blogs and saw the silicone aquarium sealant might be a solution for a glass top humidor, so I purchased some and sealed the seam between the glass and the lid, did the wipe down method again with shot glass of distilled water, and the humidor still lost humidity and went down to 48%RH. I took out the water and purchased a 74% boveda pack and placed that in the humidor but it only raised the humidity to 51% over 2 days. I did the whoosh test and the dollar bill test and the seal on the lid seems to be fine. I'm running out of ideas. Any hail mary suggestions before I just decide to say screw it and get a new humidor?
> 
> Much appreciated.


Some background info would assist with providing more helpful advice.

What is the storage capacity/dimensions of the humidor? - Smaller humidors, unless purchased from a high-end company, tend to be less well constructed, leak more, and have less quality materials.

Does the humidor have any Spanish cedar inside? Fully lined with a good amount, or just super thin veneer? Is there a Spanish cedar tray? SC is helpful in maintaining humidity levels as it can hold a very high moisture content and then release it when the RH of the air drops below the level maintained in the wood. If your humidor lacks a good amount of SC, then you essentially have a wooden box, not a humidor.

You say you tried to season the humidor in two-day increments, but it takes closer to a solid two weeks to get humidors close to being seasoned enough to hold stable levels without any support from humidification media. I see you say you did this multiple times over a period of a couple of weeks, but if during the seasoning process you're taking out the seasoning media every two days and exposing the humidor to the dry air, you're kind of shooting your self in the foot. This is why the boveda packs are perfect for seasoning; you place the appropriate number (1 60gm pack per 25 cigar capacity) inside, close the lid, then let it just sit undisturbed for two weeks. This raises the humidity of the air to such a constant, high level that the wood is forced to absorb the excess moisture in an attempt to balance/stabilize.

In the end, there is no substitute for patience. If you are dead set on using this humidor, my overall recommendation is to verify there are no additional leaks, add Spanish cedar as needed, throw the appropriate number of 84% boveda packs in, close the lid, then let it sit for two weeks.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Jankjr (Jan 1, 2000)

Welcome to Puff...

read this thread https://www.cigarforums.net/forums/...ssion/236513-desktop-humidor-setup-101-a.html

Make sure the humi has a tight seal and correct any deficiencies if you can.

Buy 84% Boveda's (several depending on humi size). @Sine_Qua_Non has a bunch for sale that you could recharge and reuse.

Put your hygro in an air-tight small plastic container with one Boveda pack and make sure it's dead on balls accurate

Put the remaining Boveda's in your humi and don't touch it for a month (maybe check every 7 days to make sure the Boveda's aren't bone dry)

Keep us posted on the progress

Another good read is this thread while you're waiting https://www.cigarforums.net/forums/vb/general-cigar-discussion/226921-patience.html


----------



## OneStrangeOne (Sep 10, 2016)

Yep, pretty much agree with all the above. It takes a minimum of two weeks too properly season a humidor. With possibly the exception of wiping it down, I think the only thing you did wrong was not giving it time to do it’s thing . Boveda are great but they take time to react.


----------



## Bird-Dog (Oct 16, 2009)

It's been mentioned, but I will reiterate and stress that you can't rely on the reading from an uncalibrated hygrometer. Furthermore, if it's an analog hygrometer that came with the humidor it's less than worthless. I'm going to take a WAG here and say, even without giving the humidor ample time to season, based on the info you gave your hygro is off by at least 20 percentage points.


----------



## vroom_vroom (Jul 31, 2018)

Personally mine didn't do well with just bovedas, 4 60s and a 320 and it struggled to get to 60% with 55 being more like it.

I started with beads but ran into a over humidification problem thanks to my hygro being out of whack. Now I have the 320 and a small 3 oz container with beads and it holds 68 rock steady. FWIW.

I have taken mine apart and can tell you it's just slapped together, the can/cooler unit has 4 screws that hold it into the case from the back service panel. Unplug it and pull the cooling block. It had some half asses foam around it that was very uneven to seal things to the point I could see that being a problem. Hard to see it in the picture but inspect the seal circled in red if your up to it.









Sent from my an underground desert bunker


----------

